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Angus Shortt is a well known Winnipeg artist and painter of wildlife art. He was born on September 25, 1908 in Belfast, Ireland. His family immigrated to Canada in 1911 and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1926 Shortt started working for Brigden's commercial art firm as a wood engraver. As an apprentice he was sent to study at the University of Manitoba under Professor L. LeMoine Fitzgerald. Shortt was interested in painting wildlife and studied wild birds plumage and anatomy. In 1932 Shortt obtained a federal collecting permission to hunt and taxidermy wild birds and in 1935 he obtained a position at the Museum of Manitoba where he worked on restoration of a Treherne Plesiosaur skeleton. Shortt was also interested in studies of wild birds (Birds of Paradise, Hummingbirds, Clay-Colored Sparrow, Sunbirds, Raptors, and Hawks). He presented his research to the Natural History Society of Manitoba (1936-38). There he met his wife Elizabeth (Betsy) Haak who became his long time partner in life and work. In 1939, when Ducks Unlimited was formed, he became an artist-technician for the public relations department. There he specialized in painting ducks and geese and donated his painting to many Ducks Unlimited fund-raisings. Angus Shortt also designed series of the Manitoba wildflower and bird paintings; series of 12 medallions, featuring designs based on provincial wildflowers for Canada's Centennial; series of greeting cards depicting variety of ducks; and sets of playing cards with wildlife illustrations for the U.S. Playing Card Co., Ohio. He illustrated Treasure of Waterfowl(1946), Birds of Colorado (1965), and Ducks and Men: Forty Years of Co-operation in Conservation (1978). To honor Angus Shortt, Ducks Unlimited named a lake (Shortt Lake) to honor his longtime work. In 1962 he designed a fifteen cent stamp for Post Office Department. He retired in 1973. Angus Shortt was recipient of many awards and medals. He was awarded the Good Citizenship Award in 1969; the Centennial Gold Medal of Remembrance by the Manitoba Historical Society in 1970; and the Golden Jubilee Medal was presented to Mr. Angus Shortt on the occasion of the fiftieth Anniversary of the Accession of Her Majesty the Queen to the Throne in 2002. Angus Shortt's wife Elizabeth (Betsy) Shortt was a naturalist, gardener, and former judge of floral arrangements for the Winnipeg Horticultural Society. She received a number of scholastic awards including the Governor General's Gold Medal in 1933 and became a member of the Manitoba Naturalist's Society in 1934. Angus Shortt's brother, Terry Shortt was also artist and worked at the Royal Ontario Museum as an illustrator and the chief of art and exhibits. Angus Shortt passed away on January 8, 2006, at the age of 97 and his wife Betsy passed away on July 1, 2006, at the age of 90.